Batman: Year One (Review)

by Brian Tudor

In 1987, Frank Miller wrote Batman: Year One, it is the story of a young Bruce Wayne coming back to Gotham City after 12 years aboard and 18 years after the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne. Since it’s publication Batman: Year One has been considered one of the pinnacle Batman stories of all time. I actually put Year One ahead of The Dark Knight Returns as Miller’s best work.

This new Direct-to-Blu Ray release’s voice cast is nothing less than stellar. The cast features Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) as Lt. James Gordon, Ben McKenzie (Southland, The O.C.) as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) as Selina Kyle/Catwoman and Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) as Sarah Essen. Alex Rocco (The Godfather) is the voice of crime lord Carmine Falcone.

The great voice cast is only part of the equation of Year One, the actors had to take on an iconic Batman story and they were more than up to the task. I was especially impressed with McKenzie’s portrayal of the young Bruce Wayne. He did a great job as both Bruce and the Bat, the sublet change in his voice between the two was both terrifying for criminals and calming for “civilians” as Gotham’s favorite playboy.

Bryan Cranston, is well know for his roles on Seinfeld, Malcolm in the Middle and Breaking Bad. He is an animated actor who tends to steal every scene he takes part in. That is why his sublet and strong performance as Lt. Jim Gordon is so much more powerful, but more on that later.

As a big fan of the source material (actually it is my favorite Batman story ever told) I knew what to expect from the story, what I didn’t expect is to see the voice and pace of the comic matched almost perfectly to the comic. In the scenes where Bruce Wayne returns to Crime Ally for the first time on his recon mission, it is tense and scary and Bruce’s impatience in wanting to become a creature of the night becomes very clear.

There was one scene in this movie they absolutely had to nail. It was the scene where a Bruce is bleeding out from a gun shot wound and refusing to ring a bell to have Alfred come to his aid until he gets a sign as to how to strike fear into the hearts and minds of criminals. It is then a giant bat crashes through the window and rests right on the head of the bust of Thomas Wayne. This is the bat who got the whole ball rolling for Batman to take shape, and  it was my absolute favorite scene in the entire movie.

Selina Kyle and the birth of Catwoman is another strong addition to this tale, she is a street waling “pro” who winds up becoming one of Gotham’s first costumed villains as she goes about robbing Gotham’s elite. Watching her get frustrated at the Batman getting credit in the press for her attacks on the elite, was the best part of the character’s development.

I mentioned Bryan Cranston’s work as Jim Gordon before, but he is the shining star of this film. They way he captures his the disgust of Gotham City as he makes his way in by train, the remorse he feels when cheating on his wife and the gratitude he feels when his son is saved when The Roman’s nephew drops the baby off a bridge and he is saved by an un-costumed Batman. He takes Jim Gordon to a whole new level of awesome. Oh, and did I forgot to mention Gordon is actually kind of a bad-ass when it comes to fighting? The chance to finally see him take down Detective Flass animated was well worth the 24 years going from page to screen.

If there is any issue with this move it would have to be the animation, at times it feels more like a motion comic than an animated movie and there are other times where it is beautiful and simple. The uneven feeling of the animation is not enough to derail this movie from being on of DC Entertainment’s best releases to date.

This Blu Ray features some great special features, the sneak peek at Justice League: Doom is one that you should go ahead and watch right away (I actually watched it before watching the feature). The other “big” special feature is the original DC Showcase Animated Short: Catwoman. The short is the first solo feature featuring Catwoman and focuses on her feline adventures through the dark seedy streets of Gotham City.

The 2-disc set also features two featurettes (Heart of Vengeance: Returning Batman to His Roots &  Conversations with DC Comics), a commentary, a digital comic book, two Batman: The Animated Series episodes, a standard edition of the film, and a high definition edition of the film.

This story is the basis for the Batman many of the mainstream public know from the blockbuster Batman Movies. Thus, the Batman: Year One Blu-Ray 2 disc set is a must have for any Batman fanboy (or girl), it is also a great way to take a look at how Bruce Wayne goes from being a victim of a savage crime as a child who made an oath to his dead parents to being the Batman.

Batman: Year One will hit shelves on October 18th. You can also take advantage of a special early download-for-purchase window which begins October 11th through iTunes, Xbox Live, Zune, VUDU HD Movies and Video Unlimited on the PlayStation Network, which will include the DC Showcase Short, Catwoman.

- Brian Tudor (follow @briantudor on Twitter)